Dive Brief:
- A review of low-demand academic degree programs in the University of North Carolina System have resulted in cuts or discontinuations of 56 degree programs. Among the cuts, mathematics, art and special education degrees, according to The News & Observer.
- At a time when enrollment in UNC schools had dropped by 27% in the last five years, the state is faced with having to make about 10,000 new teacher hires.
- The cuts were announced not long after the Daily Tar Heel student newspaper quoted a UNC board member as saying the board is made up of capitalists who must think of and respond to demand.
Dive Insight:
The current political environment and social media have elevated discourse around the cuts. The University of North Carolina’s progressive president Tom Ross was pushed out of his position by the system’s board earlier this year in what some have pointed to as the evolution of an increasingly conservative governing elite in the state. North Carolina is one of several states debating the place of a liberal arts education in public institutions which some would rather see turned into job training centers.